Monthly Archives: September 2015

Artist: Kathleen Koja Location: Her rehearsal space Breakfast: “I do not drink…wine.” We weren’t really having breakfast; Kathe and I met up for a conversation about nerve Theater’s latest work-in-progress. It’s an adaptation of Dracula, and our conversation took place, appropriately, in the sub-level space of the Izzy on Michigan, where the performance happen in […]

“Two Michaels enter. One Michael leaves.” That’s the tag line for Michael E Michael, a game starring two dueling Michael Jackson avatars lifted from the Moonwalker arcade game, equipped with the power to shoot dance moves, lasers, and release a cavalcade of mini-Michaels — just like the King of Pop himself. This magnificent creation was […]

DETROIT — The 2015 Detroit Design Festival brought a flurry of activity to the city’s environs, the capstone to a busy September. In a whirlwind of conferences, events, and openings, it becomes a little difficult to stand, and yet, there were a few really outstanding pieces that came through the chaos. Cristin Richard upped the […]

Image courtesy of Kresge Arts in Detroit. Been a big week for catching #KAF15 in action. On Tuesday, I had BWTA with the one, the only Faina Lerman. You can catch that action here. On Wednesday, I scored a press pass to the Creative Economy Policy Summit, put on by our own Creative Many. I […]

How does the old expression go? There’s no bad time to get a Kresge? True enough, but I have to say, as an early-career writer and artist trying to get my shit together with little formal training on these matters, I surely appreciate the intervention in my development. I try to show up for as […]

Nicole Macdonald’s ‘Detroit Portrait Series’ installation at 5729 W. Grand River Ave (image courtesy the artist) DETROIT — It seems ridiculous to think of a five-by-seven-foot portrait as being subtle, but that is the word that springs immediately to mind during an encounter with Nicole Macdonald’s large portraits of important figures in Detroit’s history and present. […]

Captures from a film “Tapitapultutas (Catapults)” by Donna Conlon and Jonathan Harker “If you don’t know what the south is – It’s simply because you are from the north” That is the simple, pointed statement made on a set of posters by Runo Lagomarsino, free for the taking by anyone who attends “The United States of […]

DETROIT — Detroit exists these days amidst a flurry of newcomer enthusiasm, rapid development, and media characterization that sometimes leaves longtime residents struggling to identify with the way “new Detroit” is being presented — and more importantly, packaged — for outside consumption. Even the art scene is experiencing a sea change, with new galleries, collectors, […]